In a little bit, my family and I will be traveling. Most hotels in the US charge $9.99 per day per device for connectivity - with four of us with laptops, that gets expensive really fast.

is there a pre-paid mobile gizmo that we could get that would allow the four of us to connect rather than connecting through the hotel? I'd only need it for about a week.

we all have Android smart phones, but I understand that connecting through a smartphone app would drain the phone battery incredibly. Could we plug in the phone and use the mobile wifi app that way? if so, any particular recommendations for specific apps?

The only thing I can think of is a 3G cell phone connection but that may end up being more expensive than the hotel fee for internet access.

Thought: I've been in a few hotels in Europe and Canada and more and more offer access to the net included in the price of the room, so maybe you should try to find such hotels wherever you need to go.

I mention this purely for information as I have no experience with this company. Virgin Mobile has no-contract mobile hotspot devices with unlimited data, listed here.

I think you buy the device and then buy cards at stores to refill your account. The cost may be prohibitive if you only need the hotspot for a week. I don't know about their coverage either. Again, just throwing this option out there.

OK, it looks like the device itself is $29.99, plus a $5/day or $35/month data plan. I'll have to do some research to see whether this will be cost-effective. Thanks for letting me know about it - this is exactly what I was looking for.

It is absolutely possible to have the phone connected to the charger as you use it as a hotspot. If you don't have a big enough data allotment I guess it's not a great option though. Thethered computers use a lot more data than when you use the phone itself for surfing or whatever.
Over here we have PayByTheDay prepaid data cards. Maybe ther is something similar available to you as well? Like what LoveMacs suggest.

Edit: Ooops! I see now you posted while I was writing! I'm so slooow...

I'm actually traveling out of the U.S. right now. I found an article on Lifehacker on how to to turn one laptop into a wifi hotspot. Be sure to read through the comments as some folks have had great luck with this and others not so much. If it works you'll only have to pay the daily rate for one laptop.

I'm using a free app called Connectify to connect a couple of devices to my laptop running a VPN (phone works great but Kindle Fire HD does not recognize the VPN). I am not staying in a hotel so your mileage may vary.

OK, it looks like the device itself is $29.99, plus a $5/day or $35/month data plan. I'll have to do some research to see whether this will be cost-effective. Thanks for letting me know about it - this is exactly what I was looking for.

This won't help the OP, but I have found in Canada anyway that it is the slightly more upscale hotels that have a business clientel staying on an expense account that typically charge. Most of the more "budget" type chains will tend to have free wifi.

OK, it looks like the device itself is $29.99, plus a $5/day or $35/month data plan. I'll have to do some research to see whether this will be cost-effective. Thanks for letting me know about it - this is exactly what I was looking for.

I have the Virgin Mobile MiFi 2200, bought last year on sale, it's been a great little device. I can still get the $10 for 10 days and $20/mo plan for 1GB, but I think new owners can't get the old plans. The $35 is not too bad though, as you get 2GB of data.

Do check the coverage map to be sure you'll be covered where you are going.

As others have said, the more upscale the hotel, the more likely it is to charge for in-room WiFi. But as others have also said, most hotels have free WiFi in public areas like their lobby, bar, and restaurant. So here's a tip from a frequent traveler: capture an internet connection in the lobby and take it with you up to your room. As long as you don't close your browser, and unless your room is far from the lobby, you'll have a connection for the next 24 hours or so. After that, you'll probably have to renew the connection in the lobby.

This won't help the OP, but I have found in Canada anyway that it is the slightly more upscale hotels that have a business clientel staying on an expense account that typically charge. Most of the more "budget" type chains will tend to have free wifi.

It is the same in Australia, the more expensive and upmarket the hotel, the more they charge for WiFi access, the budget chains provide it with the room.

I have often used my phone's mobile hotspot to connect in hotels. My connection allows for up to 5 computers to join. Yes, you can keep the phone plugged into the outlet while using the wifi hotspot. Paired with an unlimited data plan, this makes a good choice for me while travelling. Check you carrier for coverage, service area and cost...you could subscribe for a month and then cancel after your trip.